Method of displaying call information in mobile communication terminal and mobile communication terminal adapted to display call information

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method of and apparatus for displaying call information in a mobile communication terminal and a mobile communication terminal adapted to display call information. The method includes the steps of checking the call information when a call occurs, updating and storing the call information according to a status of the call, and displaying the updated call information.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/377,365filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Mar. 17, 2006, andclaims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of Application No.2005-28570 filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Apr. 6,2005, the entire disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal methodand apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to amethod and apparatus for displaying call information in a mobilecommunication terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art

The recent increase in the use of portable terminals has produced anincrease in volume in the amount of calls received and dialed by users.Therefore, the amount of lists comprising information according to thereceived and dialed calls has greatly increased. For example, when thereception and origination of calls occur by a preset number or forpredetermined duration in a mobile communication terminal, only thelatest information about the occurring calls is memorized in acorresponding list by sequentially deleting old information, which ispreviously stored, from the list. When call reception/origination occurswith respect to the same phone number, since the occurrence informationabout the call reception/origination is sequentially displayed, it isdifficult for a user to determine the state of the callreception/origination for the phone number.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method for allowing a userto easily determine call information according to the state of callreception/origination and the success of call connection.

SUMMARY

An aspect of exemplary embodiments address at least the above problemsand/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages describedbelow. Accordingly, exemplary embodiments have been made to solve theabove-mentioned problems, including a method for controlling acommunications device is provided that includes displaying on a firstwindow, for a plurality of call items, information of a counterpartcommunications device, a number of occurred calls with the counterpartcommunications device, and a call type including one of a received calltype, a dialed call type, and a missed call type; and displaying atleast one detailed item for a selected call item on a second window,upon user selection of the call item, with the at least one detaileditem for each call of the number of occurred calls displayed on thesecond window including a time point of the call occurrence or a timepoint of call connection.

Another aspect provides a communications device that includes a displayand at least one processor configured to control displaying on a firstwindow of the display, for a plurality of call items, information of acounterpart communications device, a number of occurred calls with thecounterpart communications device, and a call type including one of areceived call type, a dialed call type, and a missed call type, anddisplaying at least one detailed item for a selected call item on asecond window, upon user selection of the call item, with the at leastone detailed item for each call of the number of occurred callsdisplayed on the second window including a time point of the calloccurrence or a time point of call connection.

A further aspect provides a method for controlling a communicationsdevice, with the method including displaying, on a display of thecommunications device, a number of at least one occurred call;detecting, by a processor of the communications device, an occurrence ofanother call; determining a phone number of at least one counterpartcommunications device of the at least one occurred call and a phonenumber of the another call; if the determined phone numbers are thesame, increasing the number of the at least one occurred call that isdisplayed on the display; if the determined phone numbers are different,generating information of another counterpart communications devicecorresponding to the another call and displaying the generatedinformation on the display of the communications device; upon anoccurrence of a further call after determining that the phone numbersare different, generating information of a further counterpartcommunications device corresponding to the further call if a phonenumber of the further call is different than the phone number of theanother call; and displaying the generated information of the furthercounterpart communications device.

A still further aspect provides a communications device that includes adisplay and at least one processor configured to control displaying, ona display of the communications device, a number of at least oneoccurred call; detecting, by a processor of the communications device,an occurrence of another call; determining a phone number of at leastone counterpart communications device of the at least one occurred calland a phone number of the another call; if the determined phone numbersare the same, increasing the number of the at least one occurred callthat is displayed on the display; if the determined phone numbers aredifferent, generating information of another counterpart communicationsdevice corresponding to the another call and displaying the generatedinformation on the display of the communications device; upon anoccurrence of a further call after determining that the phone numbersare different, generating information of a further counterpartcommunications device corresponding to the further call if a phonenumber of the further call is different than the phone number of theanother call; and displaying the generated information of the furthercounterpart communications device.

Other objects, advantages, and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a mobilecommunication terminal according to a preferred exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of storing callinformation in a mobile communication terminal according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts illustrating an operation for displayingcall information in a mobile communication terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 4A to 4C are views showing call information displayed in a mobilecommunication terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will beunderstood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The matters defined in the description such as a detailed constructionand elements are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding ofthe embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skillin the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of theembodiments described herein can be made without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention. Also, descriptions of well-knownfunctions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a mobilecommunication terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

A controller 100 controls the operation of a mobile communicationterminal. In particular, the controller 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention performs a control operation in sucha manner that the number of call occurrences is stored in a call countdatabase 120 a of a memory module 120 by accumulating the number of thecall occurrences according to the state of call reception/originationand the success of call connection. In addition, when the controller 100receives user menu input allowing the display of a list having theaccumulated number of the call occurrences, the controller 100 controlsa display module 110 to display call information including theaccumulated number of the call occurrences. When the controller 100receives a user key input allowing the display of detailed items of thedisplayed call information, the controller 100 performs a controloperation in such a manner that the list of detailed items is displayedon a corresponding window according to the state of a call occurrence.When a call occurs, the controller 100 determines if the accumulatednumber of call occurrences corresponding to the occurring call exceeds apreset number. If the number of call occurrences for the same callnumber exceeds the preset number as the determination result, thecontroller 100 performs a control operation so that the latest callinformation according to the accumulated number of call occurrences isstored and the oldest call information, which is stored, is deleted.

The display module 110 displays a current state, each processing state,and each operation state according to a key input from a key inputmodule 130. According to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, the display module 110 displays information about callcounterparts according to call reception/origination. In addition, thecontroller 100 displays the number of call reception/originationoccurrences and the number of call connection success for the same phonenumber by determining call reception/origination or the success of callconnection. When the display module 110 receives the user menu inputallowing the display of the detailed items for the number of the calloccurrences, the display module 110 displays information about a missedcall and the number of missed calls according to the state of calloccurrence (such as the state of call reception/origination and thestate of a call connection success). In addition, when a user selectsone of plural items from the displayed detailed items, the displaymodule 110 displays detailed call information including the counterpartof the occurring call, the time point of the call occurrence, and thetime of call connection.

A memory module 120 stores programs performed in the controller 120 ortemporarily stores data processed through the programs. In addition, thememory module 120 stores various ringing sounds, MP3s, and movingpictures which can be output from the mobile communication terminal.Further, the memory module 120 stores data including various types ofphone books and messages. This memory module 120 includes a read onlymemory (ROM) storing an operating system program, an electricallyerasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and a read access memory (RAM). Thememory module 120 according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention includes the call count database 12 a storing the number ofcall occurrences by accumulating the number of call occurrence accordingto the state of the call reception/origination and the state of the callconnection. When one of call origination, call reception, and callmissing stored in the call count database 120 a occurs above a presetnumber of call occurrences, information about the latest occurring callin the detailed information of calls according to the types of calloccurrence is stored and information about the first occurring call isdeleted from the call count database. The key input module 130 is usedfor receiving various types of data stored in the mobile communicationterminal from a user. The key input module 130 is also used forreceiving a signal allowing various functions of the mobilecommunication terminal. In particular, the key input module 130according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is usedfor user key input allowing call termination or call origination. Thekey input module 130 according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention is used for key input allowing the display of the detailedlist having the accumulated number of call occurrences according to calloccurrence.

An audio processing module 140 generally includes a voice coder (VCODER)and is driven under the control of the controller 100. The audioprocessing module 140 decodes coded voice data received from a wirelesstransceiver 160, converts voice data into an electrical voice signal,and then outputs the converted electrical voice signal to a speaker. Thespeaker converts the received electrical voice signal into an audiblesignal to be output. The audio processing module 140 also codes anelectrical voice signal received from a microphone and outputs the codedvoice signal to the wireless processing module 150. Additionally, theaudio processing module 140 outputs various types of ringing soundsstored in the memory module 120 through a speaker when the call isreceived. If the wireless transceiver 160 receives a signal through awireless channel having a frequency band using an antenna under thecontrol of the controller 100, the wireless transceiver 160down-converts the frequency band of the received signal and outputs thedown-converted signal to the controller 100 according to the types ofdata. The data output to the controller 100 from the wirelesstransceiver module 160 includes character data, paging signals receivedthrough a paging channel, and signaling signals.

As described above, the overall structure of a mobile communicationterminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionincludes a memory module, a call count database, a display module, and acontroller. The memory module stores information according to callreception/origination and the state of call connection success. The callcount database stores the number of call occurrences based on the storedinformation. The display module displays the call information when amenu allowing a list having the number of call occurrences to bedisplayed is selected from a user. Finally, the controller controlsentire functions of the components.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of storing callinformation in a mobile communication terminal according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The controller 100 of the mobilecommunication terminal has a waiting mode in step 200. When a calloccurs in the waiting mode, the controller 100 determines if the calloccurs by receiving the call in step 205. If it is determined that thecall occurs by receiving the call in step 205, the controller 100determines if a key allowing the connection to the received call isinput in step 210.

If the controller 100 confirms that the key allowing the connection tothe received call is input as the determination result in step 210, thecontroller 100 performs a communication mode in step 215. The controller100 determines the list of the received calls of the memory module 120in step 220 when performing the communication mode. According to thedetermination result in step 220, the controller 100 performs step 245to determine if the number of call reception occurrences from a phonenumber of the received call exceeds a preset number of call receptionoccurrences. If the number of call reception occurrences from the phonenumber of the received call is less than the preset number of callreception occurrences as the determination result, the controller 100stores the number of call reception occurrences from the phone number inthe call count database 120 a, which has the number of call receptionoccurrences from phone numbers stored in the memory module 120 byincreasing the number of call reception occurrences by one. If thenumber of call reception occurrences from to a phone number of thereceived call exceeds the preset number of the call receptionoccurrences in step 245, the controller 100 deletes the first storedcall information in detailed information about the phone number from thememory module 120 and stores the latest received call information in thememory module 120.

The controller 100 rings the bell reporting call reception during apredetermined time interval in step 210. If the controller 100determines that it does not receive user key input allowing theconnection to the received call, the controller 100 performs step 225 todisplay an alarm message for missed call, which reports that theconnection to the received call is not achieved, on the display module110. Also, the controller 100 determines the list of missed calls storedin the memory module 120 in step 230.

The controller 100 performs step 245 as the determination result in step230 to determine if the number of missed calls, which is not connectedto the phone number of the received call, exceeds a preset number. Ifthe number of missed calls is less than the preset number, thecontroller 100 stores the received phone number in the memory module 120and stores the number of call reception occurrences corresponding to thephone number in the call counter database 120 a by increasing the numberof the call reception occurrences by one. In addition, if the number ofthe call reception occurrences corresponding to the phone number of thereceived call exceeds the preset number of the call reception in step245, the controller 100 deletes the first stored call information indetailed information about the phone number of the received call fromthe memory module 120 and stores the latest received call information inthe memory module 120.

In step 205 a determination is made as to whether an occurring call is areceived call. If the occurring call is not a received call, thecontroller 100 performs step 235 to determine if the occurring call is adialed call. Accordingly, if the occurring call is the dialed call byreceiving a user key input originating a call as the determinationresult, the controller 100 performs step 240 so as to determine a listof dialed calls stored in the memory module 120. Consequently, thecontroller 100 determines the number of the dialed calls in step 245 andperforms steps of deleting information about dialed calls and thenstoring information about dialed calls, or increasing the number ofdialed calls by one as the determination result.

When call information is stored in a mobile communication terminalaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention asdescribed above, the mobile communication terminal accumulates thenumber of call occurrences by determining the number of call occurrencesfor call types such as a dialed call, a received call, and a missed callaccording to call connection. Also, if the accumulated number of calloccurrences exceeds the preset number, the first stored call informationincluding information about each occurring call is deleted, and thelatest occurring call information is stored.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts illustrating an operation of displayingcall information in a mobile communication terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4A and 4Billustrate screen images when call information is displayed in a mobilecommunication terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. The controller 100 has a waiting mode in step 300. Ifa signal reporting key input is generated in the waiting mode, thecontroller 100 determines if the input key allows the display of calloccurrence information in step 305. According to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention, whenever the key (speaking key) allowing thedisplay of the call occurrence information is input once, the callinformation is displayed. Accordingly, the controller 100 determines ifthe input key (speaking key) is input once in step 305. Thereafter, ifthe input key (speaking key) is not input as the determination result,the controller 100 performs step 310 so as to perform a functioncorresponding to the input key. In addition, if the controller 100determines that the key (speaking key) is input once as thedetermination result, the controller 100 performs step 315.

The controller 100 displays information about all occurring calls instep 315 as shown in FIG. 4B. The screen image (b) shown in FIG. 4B isformed under the assumption that calls occur as shown in FIG. 4A. Inother words, the displayed information includes information about iconsor predetermined marks representing a received call, a dialed call, anda missed call. The displayed information also includes information aboutthe number of call occurrences for each call and a counterpart of eachcall. The displayed number of call occurrences for all calls is obtainedby analyzing information about a call counterpart stored in the memorymodule 120 and adding the number of received calls, dialed calls, ormissed calls occurring with respect to the call counterparts accordingto the state of call reception/origination occurrences. The controller100 performs step 320 so as to receive a user key input to allow thedisplay of more detailed information according to the state of calloccurrence with respect to call occurrence information about all calls.According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the keyallowing the display of the detailed information may be set as a leftdirectional key “←” or a right directional key “→”. Also, the right andleft directions may be set as positive and negative directions,respectively, according to the input of the directional keys. In thecase of the positive direction as shown in FIG. 4B, a sequence ofdisplaying the detailed information according to the directional keyinput as shown in FIG. 4B is a sequence of displaying a window (b) forcall occurrence information about all calls, a window (c) forinformation about received calls, a window (d) for information aboutdialed calls, and a window (e) for information about missed calls.Alternatively, if the input key is a key allowing the display of thedetailed information in the negative direction, a window (b) for calloccurrence information of all calls, a window (e) for information aboutmissed calls, a window (d) for information about dialed calls, and awindow (c) for information about received calls may be sequentiallydisplayed.

The controller 100 receives the input of either a left directional key“←” or a right directional key “→” from a user and then determines thedirection of the input key. Accordingly, the controller 100 determinesif the input key is the right directional key “→” in step 325. If theinput key is the right directional key “→” as the determination result,the controller 100 displays a call information window of a +1 detailedlist. The window of the +1 detailed list shows the display sequence ofthe detailed list. For example, when the right directional key “→” isinput in the displayed window (b) for call occurrence information aboutall calls in step 315, the window (c) for information about receivedcalls may be displayed. Then, when the right directional key “→” isinput in the displayed window (c) for information received calls, thewindow (d) for information about dialed calls may be displayed. In otherwords, according to information about a directional key input from auser, the controller 100 progresses in a +1 direction in step 330 fromstep 325 of determining the right key “→”. Then, the controller 100determines if the input key is the left directional key “←” in step 335and progresses in a −1 direction in step 340 as the determinationresult. In addition, the controller 100 displays the windows bycirculating the windows in +1 direction or −1 direction according to theinput of the left key “←”or the right key “→” in step 345.

When one selected from a user among the displayed windows is displayed,the controller 100 receives the key allowing the selection of one amonga plurality of displayed call items in step 350. According to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the key allowing theselection of one among a plurality of displayed call items may be an updirectional key “↑” or a down directional key “↓”. Accordingly, thecontroller 100 determines the direction of the received key in step 355.The controller 100 determines the key input from a user as the updirectional key “↑” in step 355. The controller 100 performs steps 355to 370 of selecting detailed items similarly to steps 330 to 340. When akey allowing the display of detailed items for call occurrence for ‘HongGil Dong’ to be displayed is input on a screen image (c) shown in FIG.4C, call information occurring during a predetermined interval isdisplayed in detail as a window (c′) shown in FIG. 4C. Similarly,detailed information about items selected on screen images (d) and (e)shown in FIG. 4C are displayed in detail as screen images (d′) and (e′)shown in FIG. 4C. The controller 100 displays the items in a +1 or −1direction according to the input of the up directional key “↑” or thedown directional key “↓” in step 375.

As described above, according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, when displaying call information in a mobile communicationterminal, a key allowing the display of the call information is inputfrom a user. Therefore, call occurrence information about all calls suchas a received call, a dialed call, and a missed call and the number ofcall occurrences according to a call counterpart are displayed. Inaddition, if a user inputs a key allowing the display of a detailed listaccording to the state of call occurrence, a window showing detaileditems of call occurrence information according to the state of the calloccurrence is displayed. The detailed items, which are displayed,include information about call occurrence according to a callcounterpart. In addition, if one among the displayed items is selected,call information of the call counterpart during a predetermined timeinterval is displayed.

Although a list of detailed items according to call occurrence and oneitem displayed in the list are selected according to the input of adirectional key in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, theitem may be selected by inputting an item number according to a sequenceof displaying the detailed items through a numeral key of a key inputmodule. In addition, although description about only communication isgiven in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an applicationmay be made to the transmission/reception of a message in addition tothe reception/origination of a call.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a communications device,the method comprising: displaying on a first window, for a plurality ofcall items, information of a counterpart communications device, a numberof occurred calls with the counterpart communications device, and a calltype including one of a received call type, a dialed call type, and amissed call type; and displaying at least one detailed item for aselected call item on a second window, upon user selection of the callitem, wherein the at least one detailed item for each call of the numberof occurred calls displayed on the second window includes a time pointof the call occurrence or a time point of call connection.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the at least one detailed item further includes aname identifying the counterpart communications device.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the number of occurred calls corresponds to arespective identified call type.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein atotal number of occurred calls is increased for each additionalsequentially occurred call with the same counterpart communicationsdevice until an intervening call with another counterpart communicationsdevice.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying eachcall item of the plurality of call items line by line on the display, inchronological order.
 6. A communications device comprising: a display;and at least one processor configured to control displaying on a firstwindow of the display, for a plurality of call items, information of acounterpart communications device, a number of occurred calls with thecounterpart communications device, and a call type including one of areceived call type, a dialed call type, and a missed call type, anddisplaying at least one detailed item for a selected call item on asecond window, upon user selection of the call item, wherein the atleast one detailed item for each call of the number of occurred callsdisplayed on the second window includes a time point of the calloccurrence or a time point of call connection.
 7. The communicationsdevice of claim 6, wherein the at least one detailed item furtherincludes a name identifying the counterpart communications device. 8.The communications device of claim 6, wherein the number of occurredcalls corresponds to a respective identified call type.
 9. Thecommunications device of claim 6, wherein a total number of occurredcalls is increased for each additional sequentially occurred call withthe same counterpart communications device until an intervening callwith another counterpart communications device.
 10. The communicationsdevice of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to control displaying each call item of the plurality of callitems line by line on the display, in chronological order.
 11. A methodfor controlling a communications device, the method comprising:displaying, on a display of the communications device, a number of atleast one occurred call; detecting, by a processor of the communicationsdevice, an occurrence of another call; determining a phone number of atleast one counterpart communications device of the at least one occurredcall and a phone number of the another call; if the determined phonenumbers are the same, increasing the number of the at least one occurredcall that is displayed on the display; if the determined phone numbersare different, generating information of another counterpartcommunications device corresponding to the another call and displayingthe generated information on the display of the communications device;upon an occurrence of a further call after determining that the phonenumbers are different, generating information of a further counterpartcommunications device corresponding to the further call if a phonenumber of the further call is different than the phone number of theanother call; and displaying the generated information of the furthercounterpart communications device.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe number of the at least one occurred call indicates the number ofoccurrences of sequential communications with a counterpartcommunications device.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein if the phonenumbers of the at least one occurred call and the another call aredetermined to be different, maintaining the displayed number of the atleast one occurred call.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the numberof the at least one occurred call is displayed on the display of thecommunications device adjacent to an identifier of the counterpartcommunications device corresponding to the at least one occurred call.15. The method of claim 11, wherein the generated information of theanother counterpart communications device is displayed in line with anumber of sequentially occurred calls between the communications deviceand the another counterpart communications device.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein a type of the at least one occurred call and theanother call are one of a received call type, a dialed call type, and amissed call type.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the number of theat least one occurred call is displayed in line with the identifier ofthe counterpart communications device corresponding to the at least oneoccurred call.
 18. A communications device comprising: a display; and atleast one processor configured to control displaying, on a display ofthe communications device, a number of at least one occurred call;detecting, by a processor of the communications device, an occurrence ofanother call; determining a phone number of at least one counterpartcommunications device of the at least one occurred call and a phonenumber of the another call; if the determined phone numbers are thesame, increasing the number of the at least one occurred call that isdisplayed on the display; if the determined phone numbers are different,generating information of another counterpart communications devicecorresponding to the another call and displaying the generatedinformation on the display of the communications device; upon anoccurrence of a further call after determining that the phone numbersare different, generating information of a further counterpartcommunications device corresponding to the further call if a phonenumber of the further call is different than the phone number of theanother call; and displaying the generated information of the furthercounterpart communications device.
 19. The communications device ofclaim 18, wherein the number of the at least one occurred call indicatesthe number of occurrences of sequential communications with acounterpart communications device.
 20. The communications device ofclaim 18, wherein if the phone numbers of the at least one occurred calland the another call are determined to be different, maintaining thedisplayed number of the at least one occurred call.
 21. Thecommunications device of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to control displaying the number of the at least oneoccurred call on the display adjacent to an identifier of thecounterpart communications device corresponding to the at least oneoccurred call.
 22. The communications device of claim 18, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to control displaying thegenerated information of the another counterpart communications devicein line with a number of sequentially occurred calls between thecommunications device and the another counterpart communications device.23. The communications device of claim 18, wherein a type of the atleast one occurred call and the another call are one of a received calltype, a dialed call type, and a missed call type.
 24. The communicationsdevice of claim 21, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to control displaying the number of the at least one occurredcall in line with the identifier of the counterpart communicationsdevice corresponding to the at least one occurred call.